FERNDALE, Mich. – Michigan’s Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act does not protect LGBTQ people from housing and employment discrimination, but voters may be able to change that.
For decades, it has been up to the Legislature to amend the Act. It has never done so, though voters could soon have a say in the matter.
A new initiative is pushing to get the matter on a ballot to let citizens decide whether there should be protections added to prevent someone from losing their job or being denied a home because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
“We see people come through our doors every day who are discriminated against for public housing and being fired from work. I see it every single day," Dave Garcia said.
Garcia is the executive directors of Ferndale-based Affirmations, the largest LGBTQ community center in the state.
“The majority of Michiganders support this. Our business leaders support this,” Garcia said.
A group of people, including CEOs of major companies such as DOW, DTE, Consumers Energy and Apple, have come together in support of adding the issue to the ballot.
Organizers will need to collect about 340,000 signatures from registered voters by May 27 to get the issue on the 2020 ballot.
If enough signatures are collected, lawmakers could still vote on the matter or choose to send it to the voters.